Bonjour!

No, really.. it’s fun to fly with all this……

…and make it fit into this!

Greetings from the South of France. Holycow what a trip so far. We landed in Paris at the CDG airport with 17 boxes- TT bikes, carbon wheels o- plenty, parts, nutrition, etc… we needed for trolleys to get all the stuff through. I got nabbed by customs- we think because I had 4 bikes and the most of the wheels. My french stinks. Anyway- I told them I was going on a cycling trip in the South with some friends that were flying in the next day. I am glad that Jeff told me what to say in case I got stopped- good thing- customs in France will search every ounce of your boxes and luggage if you are with a team- ahhhh doping controls. We got a rental (very small renault) we waited inline for 2 hours and there were only 4 people in front of us- no big cars left. we got this tiny renault- took everything out of there boxes and stuffed every nook and cranny- we even stuffed the 50 waterbottles we had in and around everything. We then drove two hours nort west to Evroux(sp) to pick up the team car we were borrowing- nice sporty wagon with the totally pro tour de’ france style roof rack (pics soon) Then we drove south, way south. about 965km +/-20km. Got a speeding ticket (auto camera at 4am this morning) going somewhere in the neighborhood of 180km an hour (no- it wasn’t me, well… that got the ticket) in a 100km zone We got to limoux a small village south of Tolouse and near the Pyrenees. The race will take place on many of the climbs used in the Tour de’ France. There is a 26km climb- ouch glad I will be in the team car for that one….. anyway built some bikes up. Drank some good coffee, practiced my french (I can understand directions anyway) and had some good food- Sunday is not a day to be hungry in a small french village- especially around noon- everyone takes a 2 hour lunch- and you will be lucky to find anything open. Saw some Gerolsteiner guys near a cafe in town- and ATV’s are road legal!?!! weird to see 4 wheelers ripping through an ancient village. Anyway…. Je suis Fatigue. We are here for 3 more nights and the on to Carcassonne and the prologue. Bikes to work on in the morning. The girls arrived late today and Erinn is coming tomorrow. We had a little bike damage in shipping so lots to do right from the gun… girls are riding at 10 tomorrow. As soon as I find a USB cable ( i forgot mine) I will upload some pics… this is a beautiful region of France. Aurevoir! check out www.tour-aude-cycliste-feminin.com